LEXINGTON, Ohio (August 14, 2016) – In just his third road course start ever, NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. faced a new obstacle as rain played a significant role in Saturday’s Mid-Ohio Challenge. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro finished 30th in his debut start at the 2.4-mile course after battling back from a spin during final practice and a 33rd place starting position.
Black and his SS Green Light Racing team used the majority of both practices Friday to learn the course and braking patterns. Unfortunately, a spin in final practice caused Black and his team to spend most of the session making repairs, but they were able to have the car ready to go for qualifying. Black went on to qualify 33rd for the Mid-Ohio Challenge after dealing with rain on parts of the course during his run.
Rain would continue to be a theme for the weekend, returning right after the drop of the green flag on Saturday’s race. Teams immediately pitted for rain tires and utilized windshield wipers throughout the race. Black moved up through the field to race around the 25th position, but fell back when he needed to pit at Lap 13 for adjustments and to try to repair a broken windshield wiper. The wiper was unable to be repaired under the yellow, forcing Black to compete with low visibility for the rest of the race.
Black would go on to avoid multiple on track accidents and spins and race as high as 12th during Saturday’s event. As the course began to dry out during a portion of the race, the team pitted to take off rain tires and fell one lap down while in 31st place.
As the laps wound down, Black’s visibility worsened and he was forced to pit with six laps remaining for a windshield tear-off. He would go on to finish 30th in the Mid-Ohio Challenge but still had a great time out on the track.
“Overall, I had a blast racing out in the rain!” said Black. “It was a totally different experience and I really had a lot of fun out there. We definitely deserved a better finish than what we got, but it was only my third time road course racing and my first time ever racing in the rain, so I’m proud we were able to finish the entire race. We did the best we could and will use this experience to be better next time!”
Next up for Black and his SS Green Light Racing is the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, August 19.
Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @TeamScubaRacing.
